Superintendent Newsome's Blog

You say goodbye, and I say hello
In less than a month, 11 of our principals are retiring. That is a sizable percentage in a school system with 62 principals. And more than 11 of our schools will open in September with a new principal because another school’s principal may move into a retiring principal’s spot, creating a ripple effect of new principals.

Retiring principals are
• Robin Morgan, Bellwood Elementary
• JoAnn Crowell-Redd, Ecoff Elementary
• Joyce Lanier, Evergreen Elementary
• Donna Venable, Hopkins Elementary
• Anne O’Toole, Robious Elementary
• Lee Horgan, Alberta Smith Elementary
• Dr. Donald Bechtel, Swift Creek Elementary
• Dianne Smith, Winterpock Elementary
• Michael Rose, Chesterfield Technical Center
• Robert Stansberry, Thomas Dale High
• John Titus, James River High

Principals are among our hardest working and most important team members. They are catalysts in their school communities, bringing together students, teachers and staff members, parents, community partners and others. Principals mix together all those different groups and inspire them to rally around their school.

We thank our 11 retiring principals for all they have done for our schools and wish them well in their next endeavors. They will be missed. Simultaneously, we welcome our new principals, who are well-prepared to lead Chesterfield schools into their futures.